MORONI (NJAZIDJA) IS THE CAPITAL OF THE COMOROS ISLANDS WHICH HAVE AN 86% MUSLIM POPULATION, WHICH BECAME INDEPENDENT IN 1975.

OCTOBER 2001: AFTER SEVERAL FLIGHTS TO MARSEILLES, FRENCH (DGAC) BANNED THE AIRPLANE FROM LANDING THERE. ALSO OPERATING 1 DC-10-30.

Novemmber 2004: Restarts as "Air Comores International."

April 2005: Air Comores International (COM) is the international carrier of Comoros providing long-haul, jet airplane flights to France and the Middle East, together with regional services to eastern and southern Africa and the Indian Ocean.

October 2006: The European Commission (EC) updated its list of airlines banned in the (EU), adding Kenya's DAS Air Cargo (DAC) and Uganda's Dairo Air Services (DAR), due to "the serious safety deficiencies identified in these twin airlines in the last few months," as well as Ariana Afghan Airlines (AFG). The (EC) also banned all 27 companies certified in Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Air (KYR), owing to "the national control authority's inability to supervise them effectively."

Sixty-eight carriers - - 19 from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 21 from Liberia, 18 from Sierra Leone, and 10 from Swaziland - - have been removed, as they ceased operating because they lost their Air Operator's Certificates (AOC)s. Eight recently created airlines in the (DRC) have been added. Air Services Comores (COM) of Comoros, previously banned outright, now is subject to operational restrictions, and will be allowed to operate services bound for Europe with an airplane recently fitted with appropriate safety equipment. The (EC) also decided to keep Phuket Air and Air Koryo on the list.

The Commission and the member states' aviation safety experts examined six other individual cases, including Pulkovo Aviation (STG), Pakistan International Airways (PIA), Ghana's Johnsons Air and Ajet (the former Helios Airways). It concluded that it did not consider an immediate banning measure was called for on the basis of air safety criteria, but stated that it will "be keeping a watchful eye" on those operators' implementation of the corrective action they and their respective national authorities have promised.

December 2006: 747-222 (J2-KCD (Djibouti registration) - see photo), ex-United Airlines (UA), with "Grand Comoros" titles on a white fuselage. This suggest "Air Comores International" name has been changed to "Grand Comores."

November 2007: The European Commission (EC) issued the sixth update of its airline blacklist, removing Suriname's Blue Wing Airlines and lifting the operating restrictions imposed on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Both carriers, however, will remain subject to prioritized ramp inspections at Community airports in order to ensure their "consistent adherence" to relevant safety standards. "This latest revision shows that when airlines take rapid and sound corrective action to comply with safety standards, they can be withdrawn from the list quickly," (EC) VP Transport, Jacques Barrot noted. "It also shows that the list increasingly serves as a preemptive, rather than punitive tool for safeguarding aviation safety." He added that relevant oversight authorities verified measures taken by (PIA) and Blue Wing Airlines and "that these measures provide for long-lasting sustainable solutions to avoid the same problems recurring in the future."

July 2008: The eighth edition of the European Commission (EC)'s blacklist of banned airlines does not include Iran's Mahan Airlines (MHN), thanks to "significant efforts and progress accomplished by this carrier, which were verified during an on-site inspection," but continues to include Indonesian airlines, including Garuda Indonesia (GIA). "The Commission (EC) decided that the Indonesian authorities have still not developed and implemented an efficient oversight program on any of the carriers under their regulatory control," it said. Ukraine Cargo Airways remains banned as well, and Yemenia Airways (YEM) was told it "should complete its corrective actions plan" by the Air Safety Committee's next meeting. All airlines from Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are banned, while Gabon Airlines and Afrijet (FRJ) from Gabon are allowed to maintain operations at their current level.